Gabonese Court Hands Down 20-Year Suspended Sentence to Sylvia Bongo and Nourredine Bongo
The Court of Appeal in Libreville delivered a judgment by default on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, condemning the wife of former Gabonese President Ali Bongo, Sylvia Bongo, and her son, Nourredine Bongo, to 20 years in prison with suspension for multiple charges, including embezzlement of public funds.
The president of the specialized criminal court, Jean-Maxime Issa Assoumou, stated that Sylvia Bongo was found guilty of "receiving and embezzling public funds, money laundering, and inciting forgery," while Nourredine Bongo was found guilty of "embezzling public funds, corruption, money laundering, and belonging to a gang of criminals."
Both defendants were sentenced in absentia to twenty years in prison. They had been arrested after the coup on August 30, 2023, which overthrew Ali Bongo, and were imprisoned in Gabon for twenty months before being allowed to leave the country under a provisional release regime.
